Living in Toronto at the time, it was pretty much expected of you to watch the show. In my opinon, it's the best TV show Canada ever had. They discussed real life problems and the characters were quite real, reminded me of many of my high school friends, even though I'd graduated from high school years earlier.

I have all the original series, Kids, Jr High and High on DVD... my dream is to sit down and watch them all again from the beginning.

I'm gonna say Next Gen should be included because.....

It's a true spin off - season one began with Spike seeing her daughter Emma off to her first day at Degrassi. Snake, erm I mean Archie Simpson, was a teacher (now he's principal Snake). They did have a reunion which introduced Joey as a used car salesman (fitting no?), Caitlin is a world famous environmental reporter, Lucy (I forget what Lucy did but she had a limp (b/c of the car accident) and we got to glimpse many, I mean MANY of the original actors but they mostly did background work... I wish they'd done a better job or actually gave us a real reunion that could've been done as a supplemental episode.

Next Gen tackles so many of the same issues that the original series tackled...basically times have changed but the problems plaguing children have not changed too much.

I love the New cast (well most of them) with the same amount of enthusiasm I had for the old cast.... know how I complain about all the nostalgia on the boards? This is a prime example of how it possible to love something from your childhood and yet embrace the new version of it...it's possible to love both equally at the same time! :D

thanks for starting the thread. I hope to watch the old eps again soon... and if you don't mind I may come here and discuss the new eps because the show returns next month for it's 12th season!

I have all the original series, Kids, Jr High and High on DVD... my dream is to sit down and watch them all again from the beginning.

I'm gonna say Next Gen should be included because.....

.. and if you don't mind I may come here and discuss the new eps because the show returns next month for it's 12th season!

Great! Sure, Next Gen included of course. I've seen some "new" episodes myself, with Snake, Spike, Joey, Caitlin on it, and Emma, it's part of the Degrassi dynasty.

Hre's a "Lucy" (Anais Granofsky) commercial for gum in the late 1980s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bclh2x9MV4

I didn't like it that Lucy got in that car accident. (Degrassi high) The odd thing was that our high school grad party was in a cottage near some lake in the middle of nowhere, lots of people got drunk, and one of my friends gotinto a car accident ( but no one was hurt, thankfully)

Great! Sure, Next Gen included of course. I've seen some "new" episodes myself, with Snake, Spike, Joey, Caitlin on it, and Emma, it's part of the Degrassi dynasty.

Hre's a "Lucy" (Anais Granofsky) commercial for gum in the late 1980s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bclh2x9MV4

I didn't like it that Lucy got in that car accident. (Degrassi high) The odd thing was that our high school grad party was in a cottage near some lake in the middle of nowhere, lots of people got drunk, and one of my friends gotinto a car accident ( but no one was hurt, thankfully)

Eery similar cottage party and situation.

I loved Anais.... I totally related to her for the obvious (or maybe not so obvious) reasons... I didn't see a lot of people with my skin tone on TV so I was automatically drawn to Lucy...like we shared a kinship or something!

Remember the fight between Joey and Dwayne in the bathroom? the AIDs ep?

That was a great episode.

Degrassi dealt with lots of current sticky issues for teens. (Teen pregnancy, drugs, homosexuality, suicide, Aids, parents dying) back when the public wasn’t so used to it. Good job, Degrassi! O0

Joey was a character I often liked, and disliked (when he acted like a teen sleazy used car salesman), but he played the role well. He was eventually the main character on the show, along with Caitlin.

Living in Toronto at the time, I’ve been to the real “Degrassi” street and the school they used for Degrassi high (which wasn’t on Degrassi street) .

For me, yes. I grew up where my parents had a "Kids, Canadian TV sucks and we're gonna watch only American & British TV" mentality. I never saw the Beachcombers much, I watched it now and then. Relic was evil... ;D

Being a Gen Y I really have only seen The Next Generation. I loved that though, I'm sure the original is really good too, but I grew to love the first cast of TNG, like roughly from 2001-2007 though I think a couple of them still occasionally act in the show. I don't like the new kids as much, because it's not the same but then again TNG wouldn't be the same to someone who grew up watching the first incarnation in the 80's and early 90's.

From those clips, it seems like the Canadian accent was a bit stronger back in the 80's and early 90's, don't you think? Actually a lot stronger. I visit Canada fairly often and have friends there and sad to say, the younger people in Ontario sound so American now. :( It's stronger in British Columbia I think, though, the accent. In Toronto it seems like people over 40 have strong accents while under 40, there's an 'eh' or 'aboot' here and there but more or less they could easily be from California. :P

Being a Gen Y I really have only seen The Next Generation. I loved that though, I'm sure the original is really good too, but I grew to love the first cast of TNG, like roughly from 2001-2007 though I think a couple of them still occasionally act in the show. I don't like the new kids as much, because it's not the same but then again TNG wouldn't be the same to someone who grew up watching the first incarnation in the 80's and early 90's.

the first incarnation was actually in the late 70s.... but that was kids of degrassi street and it was a little different stylistically and tonally so we'll leave it as a separate entity and just talk about DJH & DH vs TNG.

as someone who has seen every episode of every Degrassi series ever made I can say that TNG is every bit as good Degrassi Jr High & High was.... the original TNG cast was good but I actually preferred the cast of season 9/10 and this current season. Something happened, either they hired new writers who recognized the chemistry between the cast or the actors just sort of fell into rhythm. They had and ease and delivery that is not usually found in actors that age. I wanna say the last two years (leading up to Holly J's - et al- graduation) was pretty much perfect. This new season got off to a rocky start but the new ones are finding that same ease that was effervescent in the previous one.

The brilliance of the beginning of TNG was making Emma the central character. We, fans of the old show, connected to her because we remembered when Spike got pregnant and had her. We had someone to identify and root for. There were enough links to the past to keep our interest but because we (generationally speaking) don't "poo-poo" new things we also equally embraced those cast members who were new to us. We understand that change is necessary. Primarily in a school setting. We accept the changes and move with the show, we don't wallow in the past and get all woe-is-me about it. We wish the old characters well and hope for news about them along the way but we also take time to learn about the new characters and accept them because we knew their introduction was inevitable.

The brilliance of the beginning of TNG was making Emma the central character.

Agreed. Someone we can all connect with, relate to, and bringing in only a few of the old characters (not too many, otherwise the new show would not have it's own identity). Snake, Caitlin and Joey were amongst the most popular characters in the old Degrassi, and Spike stood out (with her hair) and is Emma's mom.

From those clips, it seems like the Canadian accent was a bit stronger back in the 80's and early 90's, don't you think? Actually a lot stronger. I visit Canada fairly often and have friends there and sad to say, the younger people in Ontario sound so American now. :( It's stronger in British Columbia I think, though, the accent. In Toronto it seems like people over 40 have strong accents while under 40, there's an 'eh' or 'aboot' here and there but more or less they could easily be from California. :P

The Canadian accent only exists depending on where in Canada you are. Here in Eastern Ontario, it's non existant, but in Northern Ontario, it is quite thick

Agreed. Someone we can all connect with, relate to, and bringing in only a few of the old characters (not too many, otherwise the new show would not have it's own identity). Snake, Caitlin and Joey were amongst the most popular characters in the old Degrassi, and Spike stood out (with her hair) and is Emma's mom.

Hmmm I can hear it in Toronto but it's certainly diminished. Maybe it's a relative thing. Do people in North Bay sound Canadian even to people in southern and eastern Ontario? ;D

There are different Canadian accents within Canada, just as if I'd travel from California to Texas to Alabama to Boston and hear different US accents. I still have a difficult time understanding some southern US people when they talk, I suspect they'll say the same about me too.

But I'd agree that Toronto is the place where the accent is most diminished. Toronto wants to be American, and they still think they are the center of the Universe anyways ;D,

There are different Canadian accents within Canada, just as if I'd travel from California to Texas to Alabama to Boston and hear different US accents. I still have a difficult time understanding some southern US people when they talk, I suspect they'll say the same about me too.

Speaking of accents, I went to Niagara Falls years ago with my brother, and we ate at this restaurant where our waiter spoke English but with a very thick, very fast, French accent. I felt so bad that I couldn't understand a single word he said, I had to have my brother interpret for me. ;D My hearing is bad anyway, and is getting worse, soon I may have to just have people write down what they are trying to say to me. My luck, this will happen:

I really hated Claude.... he was so melodramatic and angsty....he was emo before we even know what emo was. Biggest mistake Caitlin made was dating him....

Oh man I totally forgot that happened.....if the Next Gen writers were smart they'd totally pull in this history somehow... I'm trying to remember when Rick (in TNG) lost it and end ended up dying at the school. I don't recall Snake's reaction to the incident or if there was any mention of Claude but that would've been perfect if they had incorporated that history.

OMG.... I just youtubed it and I never noticed how similar to Claude Rick was.... weird.

I couldn't find a good youtube version of the clip I wanted (where Rick shoots Jimmy then tries to shoot Emma) but I found two well done videos that are related to the episode.

One is a teaser the other is a music video someone did...it's really well done (not my style music but it sort of pics up where the other clip leaves off shows an incident and then flashes back on all the moments leading up to the incident....I think even if you didn't watch that season you'd have a good handle on it.

I really hated Claude.... he was so melodramatic and angsty....he was emo before we even know what emo was. Biggest mistake Caitlin made was dating him....

Oh man I totally forgot that happened.....if the Next Gen writers were smart they'd totally pull in this history somehow... I'm trying to remember when Rick (in TNG) lost it and end ended up dying at the school. I don't recall Snake's reaction to the incident or if there was any mention of Claude but that would've been perfect if they had incorporated that history.

OMG.... I just youtubed it and I never noticed how similar to Claude Rick was.... weird.

....I think even if you didn't watch that season you'd have a good handle on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cd68U4RMx4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWeyYl_ThxU

I saw that TNG episode a few years back. I was watching the show around that time.

Rick was a different kind of weird than Claude. I think everyone hated Claude. I don't think everyone hated Rick.

Claude was Emo? I don't even know what Emo is ( until I googled it). I bet I don't like any of that type of music

I saw that TNG episode a few years back. I was watching the show around that time.

Rick was a different kind of weird than Claude. I think everyone hated Claude. I don't think everyone hated Rick.

Claude was Emo? I don't even know what Emo is ( until I googled it). I bet I don't like any of that type of music

Everyone hated Rick too....remember he was abusive to Terri and hit her with a rock and she ended up with some hearing loss and residual brain damage....that's the primary reason he was bullied...not just because he was different.... Oh I guess Toby didn't hate Rick but everyone else did---- fans and characters :D

I don't mean emo in the music sense...just in the personality displayed to the world. This pic is how I see Emo.... and I meant Claude was Emo before Emo existed...he was the First. (that's a Buffy reference for those astute enough to pick up on it.) ;)

I love Drake! he's not the best rapper out there but he's not the worst.... he's very charsimatic! had the pleasure of being front row center for a concert he did at UCSB... I got that super special police access back stage and between the stage and the crowd...it was great!

I love Drake! he's not the best rapper out there but he's not the worst.... he's very charsimatic! had the pleasure of being front row center for a concert he did at UCSB... I got that super special police access back stage and between the stage and the crowd...it was great!

First I ever heard of Drake is when he sang (or whatever he does) at the 2012 NHL awards. After a few seconds, I'm glad I found my mute button.I like rap as much as Q likes Cheese, or Cat likes George Bush, or whistledog likes decadology, or ChuckyG likes Mitt Romney. ;D

First I ever heard of Drake is when he sang (or whatever he does) at the 2012 NHL awards. After a few seconds, I'm glad I found my mute button.I like rap as much as Q likes Cheese, or Cat likes George Bush, or whistledog likes decadology, or ChuckyG likes Mitt Romney. ;D

I always liked Alexa. While everyone was jonesing for Caitlin, I was jonesing for Alexa. Damn you Simon!!!! I want AlexaI also liked L.D. She was easy on the eyes

One character I hated was Kathleen Mead. Kathleen was always so jealous and judgemental. Is it wrong that I didn't 100% hate Scott for beating her up? LOL

Yeah Kathleen bugged the crap outta me.

I love Caitlin & Joey and Lucy. And Spike! And the girl in wheelchair. I don't recall her getting a lot of stories but she was always there and then she was in the backgrounds at the reunion on the next gen pilot.

Next Gen - I loved the ease and comraderie of the previous cast. Something really clicked in the friendship of Holly J. Fiona & Anya. I don't know I sort of hated Holly j at first but as the season grew the acting & writing really fell into place. I'd call season 10 almost perfect.

After I watch the original DJH & DH eps again ill probably change my answers or add to. Watching as an adult will put a new spin on it.

It all seemed so important and dramatic then but now you realize it was just a blip- a moment in time and nothing last as long as you thought it would.

Luke. He was the one that gave Shane the acid that made him jump (fall?) off the bridgeKathleen Bradley - Complaining, whinny bitch. Can Scott go a few more rounds with her please?

I didn't like the Farrell twins either. Heather was always like "But Erica, why don't you want to do what I do" and Erica was like "Oh Heather, I don't always have to do what you do". "But Erica?" "Oh Heather, would you stop!" "But Erica??" "SHUT UP BITCHES!!" lol

Luke. He was the one that gave Shane the acid that made him jump (fall?) off the bridgeKathleen Bradley - Complaining, whinny bitch. Can Scott go a few more rounds with her please?

I didn't like the Farrell twins either. Heather was always like "But Erica, why don't you want to do what I do" and Erica was like "Oh Heather, I don't always have to do what you do". "But Erica?" "Oh Heather, would you stop!" "But Erica??" "SHUT UP BITCHES!!" lol

Never really liked Shane, especially after him getting Spike preggers and acting like a fool. Mr. Raditch, I just never warmed to.

I was never fond of Shane either, and I never warmed up to Raditch either, but I think that was his role, to be that way.

I didn't like the Farrell twins either. Heather was always like "But Erica, why don't you want to do what I do" and Erica was like "Oh Heather, I don't always have to do what you do". "But Erica?" "Oh Heather, would you stop!" "But Erica??" "SHUT UP BITCHES!!" lol

Exactly, one of the reasons I didn't like them much. "SHUT UP BITCHES!!" is perfect!